


Six Foot Ditch

by bigskoot



Series: Obey Me: Books of the Dead [1]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BF Doesn't Stay BF, Biblical Scripture References (Abrahamic Religions), Disturbing Themes, Enemies to Friends, Everyone curses, Everyone is Actually an Adult lol, F/M, Fictional Religion & Theology, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, MC is Feisty, MC is a Chaotic Empath, Manipulative Relationship, Solomon is Japanese, Suggestive Themes, Violence, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:42:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24814750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigskoot/pseuds/bigskoot
Summary: Part One!MC and her loser boyfriend haven't been happy since moving in and she's had enough!What else could go wrong? A portal to a college in hell.What's even worse? Falling in love.Go on? And your psycho boyfriend made a pact with a demonic sociopath.--**comments welcome ;)**Part Two! Bury A Friend is out! (:
Relationships: Main Character/Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character/Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)
Series: Obey Me: Books of the Dead [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907002
Comments: 22
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

"I just think it'd be cool if you got into something else is all," MC hears her boyfriend, Sebastian, say laid out on the bed. The day had been long and MC wound down with her favorite videos and tutorials online, something to watch easily after the hard work day. She winces and looks over at him from her chair, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Her boyfriend, springing up, points a single finger from his hand ready to explain another novel of reasons how she could change, "see, you always get like this, you need to learn to have more self control over your emotions when you're criticized, MC." She looks at him in annoyance as he continues. Ever since they had moved into an apartment together about a month ago, he hadn't stopped nitpicking her about every little thing. _It wasn't like this before,_ she thinks as she watches him ramble.

"You're just so sensitive all the time, it's really pathe-"

Electricity fills the air. His sentence is cut short by a summoning circle appearing on their apartment floor. They both move their feet off the ground as quick as they can; a whirlwind of air and lightning swirling around the room. A huge, imposing voice booms from the circle, " **MC, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN**." She yelps and is sucked into the vortex.

\---

Barbatos steps briskly though the House of Lamentation, the new human exchange student trying to keep up behind him. Abruptly stopping in front of what was presumably her room, he gets a magical ring of keys out and opens the large oak door. He doesn't step in, instead gesturing his arm for her to enter the room, which she does, "your uniform is on the bed. Breakfast is at 7am tomorrow morning. Thank you for your compliance and I hope you enjoy your time studying at Devildom, ma'am."

"Ah," she turns around, tucking her hair behind her ear, "thank you, sir."

She watches him close the door, leaving her alone with the ambience of the room. MC stands in the center, troubled at how to feel. It was certainly a beautiful establishment. Her room is adorned with some kind of magical plant life, the bed being made of a smoothed out tree trunk, and the furniture ornate, roccoco even. MC wonders if the other rooms are just as decorative and why, really. Surely it's a pain cleaning it all. _I guess demons have magic cleaning spells,_ she thinks.

She studies the bed before deciding to sit on it. Looking around the room, her heart begins to beat faster, the experience becoming all too real. The human world would collide with the celestial and demonic realm frequently but the few times she heard of humans coming to latter, it never ended well. Souls stolen, hellish bargaining, and overall unpleasant situations that usually end with a human being eaten, dismembered, or dying. Lord Diavolo seemed friendly enough, imposing but no where near as horrific sounding ( _or looking_ ) as the tales her mother had told her as a child.

MC remembered seeing demons, many who looked human despite their more colorful features, roaming about; she even remembered her classmate who had been a succubi transfer student. A beautiful girl, stunning, and eyes like the clearest ocean. Her face so stained in her mind but suddenly snapped out of focus when she also remembered the other demonic incident. A neighborhood murder just a year ago when a man was found chewed up like gum in his own apartment. His boyfriend, a demon, was arrested and sentenced to life in isolation for a 100 years. _I wonder if it feels shorter to them._

It certainly didn't feel like they gave her 100 years to prepare herself, what with being whisked away to a castle right after she had gotten off work. Hopefully everyone didn't think she died, there must've been some way to communicate to them from Devildom. A rush of blood goes to her head and she sits straight up.

_My boyfriend._

She mentally beats herself up for not thinking of him first. Her stomach sinks, _ugh, he's gonna be furious_. He already spends enough time griping her, he'll probably have a cow when he learns she signed up to stay a whole year at a demon academy without seeing him. She didn't think the trip would be so abrupt, however.

MC sighs.

 _He'll have to figure out how to deal with it_. _I'll just figure out how to contact him._

Tomorrow is her first day.


	2. Chapter 2

_An alarm._

"Ugh."

That's the first thing Mammon hears stirring out of his sleep. He smashes his phone on his bedside table and quickly turns it off. After years of hearing the same alarm, he thought it would get less dreadful but it was always the same horrible noise. He rose from his bed, hair unkempt, wearing only his boxers. _I wish music could wake me up like it does Asmo_ , he thinks grumpily checking his phone. Every school year was getting longer and more annoying as it went by. He was almost tempted to drop out but knew his older brother would wring his neck for it.

The daily routine of getting ready was all the same; shower, uniform, lock his door before he leaves. Mammon takes one step away from his room and trips on his feet remembering, "ah, that's right," he says outloud to himself. _The human_. He had a non-magic using human to take care of for the rest of the school year. His shoulders drooped, _ugh, how annoying_. He turned on his heal and stalked down to MC's room. He sees humans all the time when he's working over realms for Majolish, but never has he really interacted with one. Usually the director was in charge of that. The few times he saw humans, they looked at him in disdain. It didn't matter if they had never talked to him or not, the fact that he was a demon was enough. Turning the corner, he felt frustrated. _Why did Lucifer have to assign me to this? To help some little girl fumble her way through an exchange program? To help Lucifer suck Diavolo's dick some more?_ He furrowed his eyebrows. _Whatever_.

MC steps out into the hallway before Mammon can get to her room. She's still sleepy from the night before and he sees her down the hall, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Oi, oi," he calls out, hands shoved in his pockets.

MC gasps and turns her head, "you scared me, what's up?" A light tinge of pink on her cheeks.

 _Ah_. For a second his brain freezes. _She looks cute in her uniform._ Flustered, he quickly shoves the intrusive thought down into his soul where no one can pull it out. His words stumble out less confident then he means to sound, "wha- I- I'm here to order you around, remember?"

She frowns, annoyed, "oh yea."

Mammon puffs out his chest, seemingly regaining control of his voice again, "The Great Mammon will show you all that you need to know 'bout Devildom, alright, so ya' better listen to me!"

She smiles, and scoffs, "yea, alright, I got you. I read some of the itinerary last night but can I eat first?"

"Oh yea," he deflates realizing that he's hungry too, "c'mon," Mammon begins walking towards the dining hall, signaling for MC to follow him, "hurry up or Beel is gonna eat everything they made."

\---

The dining hall was large and brightly lit with a huge chandelier at its center. MC looks in awe at the sheer size of the room. _The ceilings are so tall,_ she thinks stepping into the room. Most of the other brothers are seated at the table; seats empty for Mammon and MC but another two just off to the right. She wonders who they're for.

"Ah," Lucifer, the eldest brother, sits at the head of the table, "good morning, MC, hopefully you slept alright."

"Oh, yes, thank you," she says politely before sitting in between Satan and Mammon. The blonde next to her gives her a pleasant smile and for a second she realizes that she'll be here every morning for the next few months. The itinerary from Diavolo was concise and consisted of classes and activities that definitely seemed interesting, ie, magic summoning 101, classic demonic literature, club sponsoring. She had quite the handful.

"Oi, oi, eat the food on your plate before Beel steals it from you, human!"

_Yes, quite the handful._

She looks up at the tall, red head in front of her eyeing her plate. He's already put down what seems to be twelve other plates of food.

"Do you want the rest of mine when I'm done?" MC asks amused, remembering that she thought this brother was the scariest when she met him but now, he was a drooling puppy.

"Yes, please, thank you," he says flatly.

The brother with prestine skin leaned in to get a better look at her, "MC are you planning on not eating all of your food? Are you on a diet?" He mockingly put his hand over his mouth.

"Oh no, haha, I just don't eat as much in the morning."

"Girl," he says getting his phone out and quickly scrolling through it, "I feel you on that, especially in contrast with the way Beel eats," she watches him start taking selfies, "I could never."

The blonde next to MC suddenly perks his head up, "Oh hey," grabbing the attention of the other brothers, "where's Levi?"

Mammon physically flinches and answers much too fast, "who cares! He's probably in his room doing nerd shit, don't bother him."

"Don't you owe him some Grimm, Mammon," Satan asks glaring over MC's head.

He almost chokes on the bite he takes, "what, what? Me? No, no, The Great Mammon didn't need any money from Levi, that's ridiculous." Lucifer slowly pulls his gaze onto the the stuttering brother, "Mammon," his voice drips with murderous intent.

He stands up quickly, food still on his plate. The boy grabs MC by the bicep and drags her up and away from the table, "c'mon, human, we have to hurry up and get to your classes!"

"Ow," she winced, his grip tighter than comfortable. MC pulls her arm back into her body but follows Mammon out into the hallway regardless.

Once they're on the other side of the door, Mammon shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Alright, it's your first day so what classes do you have first?" He was obviously annoyed by the whole situation. Babysitting wasn't something he thought he would have to keep doing after his brothers grew up but here he was watching a human sift through the papers pulled from her pocket.

"Uh," MC hurriedly searches the schedule, "oh! Demonic/Celestial History 1."

Mammon rolls his eyes, this is all too bothersome. Some freshman course he could probably teach her in a few days. _What a waste of time._

Occupied with his thoughts, Mammon didn't notice the heavy, fast paced steps behind him when suddenly a voice sprang from a demon behind him, " **MAMMON**!"

"Ah!" Both of the students screamed in terror, Mammon practically jumping into MC as she clings to his jacket.

 _It was Levi,_ she thinks _,_ _the other brother who wasn't at the table, judging by his similar facial structure to Mammon's._ The aura around him visibly pulsating, his eyebrows furrowed and his words coming out like fire, "Mammon, you scumbag. Where's my Grimm?"

His eyes were furious, not even paying attention to MC in the slightest, as if she wasn't there.

"Levi," Mammon said frantically, moving his hands to his chest in defense, "listen, listen, I have your Grimm alright, it's just in my other pants!"

Levi steps forward as the two students step back, "you low life garbage, I'm so sick of your antics. Give me my Grimm now, you lying scum."

MC narrowed her eyebrows. _This guy is acting like a total dickhead!_ She thought balling her fists up. While Levi seethed, she knew that Mammon seemed to obviously be in the wrong but the air was already becoming too tense and the name calling made her open her mouth, "hey, chill out, dude! He said he has it," she spits out, half trying to reprimand his attitude while diffusing the situation.

Levi shoots a look of pure disdain at the human, his arms clenched against his sides like an angry child, "and who are you? His pet? This man has owed me Grimm for the last 1000 years!"

"Hey, it hasn't been that long!"

Levi snaps his head back to his brother so fast that MC thought she heard his neck pop. Before she can retort, Mammon begins to speak when suddenly he grabs MC, "sorry!" He exclaims before pushing her at Levi. She tumbles into him, and the boy sprints off, turning the corner to the exit, his footsteps quickly dissipating.

Levi doesn't push MC away but frantically steps back to avoid contact, his face red from anger and perhaps, embarrassment from being too close to a pretty girl.

"Gah!" He makes a noise, frustratedly, throwing hands in his hair, "idiot! He used you as a distraction, what a dirtbag!"

Her posture sinks and her eyes narrow looking off into the direction the conman demon brother ran. She pouts, "he was supposed to help me with classes today..."


	3. Chapter 3

"A pact?"

Levi looks up from his handful of TSL books and DVDs he's got stacked in both hands. As he stands in his room, MC sits in an office chair, eyes suddenly perking up to his sentence. After Mammon had ran off, Levi suggested she come to his room so that she could avoid getting in trouble by Lucifer for not being under supervision her first day.

However, it had been an hour and a half long rant before she could even get a word in. The first 30 minutes were at least to be polite during his rant about his favorite franchise but she didn't think she could sit through another detailed explanation on why this character wanted this and that and the other.

"You said I would have to make a pact," she repeats looking at his dumbfounded face.

His senses come back and he snaps into focus, "yea! Make a pact with Mammon so you can make him give me my money back!"

She jerks her head forward, "Levi, I don't even know what a pact is or how to do it?"

"Oh, it's easy," he says setting his collection down gently one by one back onto his desk, "all you have to do is appeal to a demon's sin or like, get them to trust you, so like, with Mammon, use his greed. If you ask me, he's been missing his credit card for months now and would probably kiss your ass if you found it. Or maybe, if you got him a new one. Then, if you bargain with him, you can make a pact. It's pretty simple. They don't teach you this in school?"

She shakes her head humorously, "no way, they can't teach kids that you can sell your soul to a demon for slavery, everyone would be doing it."

"It's not selling your soul, that's a misconception, normie," he scoffs.

 _Hm_. If this what the year would entail, she wasn't going to complain, _having a demon for convenience didn't sound too bad even if that demon was a little rude and flaky_. Jarring herself from her thoughts of a pact, she snaps her head at Levi, her eyes frantic, "ah, I had my history class today! Fuck, I totally missed it!"

He waves his hand dismissively and walks over to his computer set up. With a few clicks and taps, he turns around and leans on the table, "I sent the lecture notes and studies to your email. Just look them over when you have the chance. They just gave you freshman year classes and I already took all of them. Now you owe me and I'll help you out some more."

MC checks her email while he talks, seeing that he sent more than enough material to look over. _That was.. so nice of him_. A faint tinge of pink dust her cheeks, partly from how rude she had been to him earlier, "wow, thank you, Levi. You didn't have to do that." She looks up and smiles at him.

The demon's face feels like it's about to explode. Levi immediately turns around covering his mouth, face beat red. _She's... so cute_! He speaks up stubbornly, "d-don't mention it, normie! Just make sure you get my money back!"

"Oh! Okay, yea, I can do that," she says, oblivious to his flustered nature. Standing up, she heads for the door but turns her head one last time, "thank you again, Levi."

He simply hums in response, standing at his desk until the door closes. When the final click is audible, he let's out the air he's been holding in. _Stupid normie._

\---

To her surprise, it was Satan, the blonde brother, who gave her the most hints as to where Mammon's most prized possession could be, with a riddle even. _Hopefully, he thought I was just curious,_ she thinks.

Texting Levi leads her to the kitchen. MC props herself against the wall next to the door, waiting for the blue haired brother to meet her when she hears footsteps down the hall. She turns her back to the footsteps and gets out her D.D.D. No need to bother looking suspicious; if anyone asked what she was up to, she could just act dismissive. The footsteps drew closer and soon they were right behind her. The beat of silence was palpable as she felt eyes on her. As she turns her head, she sees another student. For a second, she thinks its Mammon. His hair is white and his frame is similar but his face is softer, a small smile and lighter complexion.

"Hi there, you must be MC," he says, still standing some feet apart from her.

She quirks her eyebrow up, "hm? Do I know you?"

"Ah," he brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck and for a second, she can see some kind of intricate design tattooed or painted onto his wrist, "I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Solomon, the other human exchange student."

"Oh, nice to meet you," she replies warily, "but how did you know I was human?"

His hand comes back down to his side as he chuckles lightly, "there isn't many women at the university so I assumed you could've been a human or another demon, but you look so nonthreatening that I had to think you must be the other exchange student."

 _Nonthreatening_? "That's a weird way to put it," she says dryly. A gut feeling rises in her stomach as she looks on at him, a familiar distrust for his character, "nice deducing though."

He continued to stand on the other side of the hallway with his hands in his pockets.

"Are you going to the kitchen?" _He's prodding, or maybe I'm just too suspicious._

"Yea, I was thinking about it. I know I'll have to be on kitchen duty at some point this year so I might as well check it out."

He steps forward towards the doors, eyeing the intricate design etched into oak. He places his finger on it, tracing the lines as he speaks, "you know, MC, I didn't see you at any classes today," a shiver runs up her back. _What the hell...?_

His finger follows the door to its ends by the wall where she stands, his eyes following suite until his body is just a foot away from hers. His hand placed on the wall above her head, his height now more apparent as he peers down on her.

"I just find it funny. We should have the same assignments but I guess you're taking a different kind of initiative, huh?"

She's glaring at his face now. He doesn't know that she won't be intimidated by whatever game he wants to play.

"Yea, I guess so. It was nice meeting you, Solomon," her voice bellows lowly and she rips herself from the wall. Without looking at him, she passes into the kitchen hoping he won't follow.

He doesn't.

A sigh of relief escapes her mouth. _God, that was weird_ , she thinks, suddenly feeling kind of flustered. A rustle by the fridge startles her.

The brother that asked for her food raises his head from behind the fridge door, his mouth stuffed like a chipmunk. His eyes wide, surprised someone entered the kitchen so violently.

She can't help but bark out a laugh seeing his reaction, "Haha! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

To her relief, he simply smiles with his mouth full and closes the fridge door. He's taller than Solomon, is the first thing that comes to mind. _He's huge, he's a fucking tank_.

Beelzebub stands at the center of the kitchen, leaned over the island with a hellish sandwich in front of him. He's bulkier than the other brothers by far. Being out of his uniform, she can see his arms and chest more pronounced in a regular shirt. Her gaze lingers too long but he doesn't seem to notice. She looks away, face red. MC was never intimidated by much, even a good looking man didn't scare her away but every brother she had met had been nothing less than a model. It was too overwhelming. _Thank god it's candlelit in here,_ she thinks trying to find a chair to sit in.

Finding a seat a few feet from the island Beelzebub is occupying, she suddenly feels kind of awkward looking around the room.

"Hey," she finally says, making an effort to act like he wasn't the hottest man in a hundred meter distance.

"Hm?" He responds still focused on his sandwich.

"Um," she thinks for a moment, not sure what even to talk about, "what are you eating?"

The brother stoically answers, "pig on rye."

She shifts in her chair, "oh, cool."

The silence fills the room as she waits for Leviathan to show up. _I hope he hurries_ , she thinks to herself, feeling the uncomfortable air as she looks around the room.

"Do you want some?"

His voice surprises her and she turns her head in his direction. As she almost says no, her stomach growls loudly and she flushes, "uh, yes, actually."

Beelzebub mouth turns into a smile and he chuckles lightly, his joyful nature helping her feel better. He rips off a piece and walks over to her chair to hand it to her. As she takes it, he moves back to the island to lean on.

Examining it, she concluded that it was edible, and she beamed up at him, "thank you!"

He returns the gesture and smiles back, "of course. I ate your food earlier, so it's the least I can do."

She chuckles, "I'm guessing all the brothers are used to you stealing food by now, huh?"

He shrugs, still smirking as he chews, "I get hungry."

"How many brothers do you have anyway?" She asks, about to bite into her sandwich but her smile falters when she notices the look on his face. He looks at her sternly. She wonders what she said wrong, but he speaks with a soft voice, a gleam of sadness just peaking through his gaze.

"MC. You must never mention this in front of Lucifer."

She nods.

"I have a six brothers here now but," he sets his sandwich down on the island, "we also have a seventh brother."


	4. Chapter 4

MC sat in her room atop her bed, legs pressed into her chest and her head resting on her knees. Diavolo had told her communication to the human world was possible through regular means and yet, over a few days, she still hadn't recieved any messages. She didn't expect any of her family to know what had happened to her ( _or care, for that matter_ ) as she hadn't talked to them in years anyway, but her boyfriend, that seemed so adamant on nagging her about her location in the human world, couldn't even bother to keep up the act of caring about her. One text every morning.

MC:

「Hey?」

Never an answer. Not even a read.

She sighs and picks up her phone again. Her thumb hovers over her messages again but she relinquishes the phone and puts it down again. _What a jerk._

The night was still young and without any homework to occupy her mind, the feeling of loneliness creeps in slowly. It was nice having the brothers around to fill some kind of social void she would've otherwise felt and thank god she didn't have to spend her time with that odd Solomon guy. _Seeing him again today was really weird._

_Hm, today._

The day had been long and filled with new greetings and words from the two Celestial transfer students. They were, at least, pleasant for the most part, but the little angel's words stuck to her brain like a cancer. She frowned. _Don't trust any demon, especially Lucifer._

After finding Mammon's credit card, the two had made a pact. Maybe it was a good idea to have an ally in this place, especially one so vocally against Lucifer's bad attitude. A knock on the door startled her halfway to a palpitation and with a small peep, she answered, "what? What is it?"

It was quiet. Her blood ran cold. The thought of Lucifer being at the door crossed her mind. _Can he mind read? Surely he can't? Lucifer, if you're mind reading me right now, knock three times._

The knocks never came. MC stood up from her bed and crept towards the door. Her throat felt dry but she spoke anyway.

"Hello?"

The silence was deafening. MC slips on her shoes and opens the door. The hallways of the House are empty and dark, only the small flames of candlelight flicker in and out.

MC suddenly feels very vulnerable. _That's fucking creepy._

She closes her door quietly, not really knowing why she feels so compelled to keep moving forward down the hallway. It was a large manor but far from confusing, no room ever looked the same. Making it towards the back of the house, she notices a large staircase to the _attic? Balcony? Something was up there, surely._ Curious, she reaches her hand to the railing. Before she can put a foot on the step, a calm and serene voice makes her ears perk up. She thought, for a second, that hearing a disembodied voice in the dark would frighten her but for some reason, a sense of peace washed over her body.

"MC," the voice said, small and distant, "Help me."

" **What are you doing**?"

She screams as she turns and falls onto the stairs in pure terror, not realizing Lucifer was standing right behind her.

"What the hell! Don't sneak up on me like that! You gave me a heart attack!"

He's still partially in his uniform, the jacket discarded in his room. His arms are folded and the scowl on his is more than enough information for her to know she's in trouble.

"What are you doing, MC," he asks again, clearly irritated.

"I," she pauses for a moment remembering what the small angel had said earlier in the day. _Don't trust Lucifer._

"I was just taking a walk."

The oldest demon brother scoffs, "you're forbidden to explore upstairs. If you would, please go back to your room."

MC keeps her eyes on Lucifer as she gets up, an intense stare down to let him know she isn't one to run when her back is against the wall.

"Alright, I'm going back," she says still glaring at him.

\---

When she closes the door to her room, the feeling of the dread rakes her body and mind. _There was someone upstairs. There was someone upstairs that Lucifer didn't want her to find out about_. Memories of demonic stories flooded back into her brain. How many stories had she heard of demons keeping prisoners? _Was the school's transfer program just a front for something more insidious? What if the voice wasn't human? Another demon?_ She knew then that she had to devise a plan to at least figure out what was upstairs. Lucifer was smart though. She would need help.

A text from her D. D. D. startles her.

Mammon:  
「Did you hear that scream???」

She sighs. _I guess he really did get the shit scared out of me._

MC:  
「sorry, i was walking around and lucifer snuck up on me so i screamed」

「mf is quiet as hell」

MC saunters over to her bed and plops down, phone still in hand.

Mammon:  
「What?? That was you?? Be careful, Lucifer will kill you if you're walking around unsupervised at night, idiot.」

「And yea, he's a fucking ninja.」

A quick burst of air through her nose indicates her amusement with Mammon's text. _They all seem so human._ She chews the inside of her mouth, deep in thought. _They aren't though_. She doesn't text Mammon back.


	5. Chapter 5

Solomon fixes his cuffs before stepping outside of his room. The door clicks behind him and with a hand wave over the doorknob, a small spell is set in place for unwanted visitors. Practicing magic in the human realm wasn't uncommon but finding a real teacher proved to be somewhat daunting, especially in the city. His parents weren't too keen on his transition from highschool valedictorian to sorcerer but supportive nonetheless. He still remembers his mother crying as she watched him leave for Tome, a hundred kilometers away from their home in Sendai. When he had arrived, he was introduced to an old, withering man. _This was surely my sensei,_ he thinks to himself.

"Ah, young Solomon," he spoke, propping himself up by his cane. The student couldn't help but notice the intricate detailing carved into it, "follow me."

The temple he stayed at in Tome wasn't grand by all means, humble in its presentation but ripe with history of sorcery. He had heard many stories of travelers attempting to learn magic here but failing under the guide of said strict teacher. As far as he knew, he was the only student in the building. Scrolls and tapestries adorned the walls in the hallway they proceeded down. The old man stops at the door, shuffling out of the way for Solomon to open it.

He approaches the thin, sliding door. Without question, he opens it, revealing a woman in traditional robes akin to Edo period Japan. Her face is turned away from him as she sits in the center of the room, knitting another article of clothing he can't quite make out. He enters the room, thinking the old man will follow him. He turns his head but the man is gone. Vanished from the hallway he was walking down. Curious, he turns back to the woman, whom now faces him. She must've been only his mother's age, graying but not ancient looking like the old man.

"It's nice to finally meet you, boy," her voice fills the room, sounding dominant in the air around him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he bows. _Was this..?_

"My name is Fujioka, just Fujioka, and I will be your sensei while you stay here."

He looks up from his position, slightly confused at her words.

"Your face tells me you did not expect Fujioka-sensei to be a woman, hm?" She smirks curtly and chuckles at the thought.

Pink grazes his cheeks and nods, embarrassingly, "I was sure that the old man was but I only assumed since I know it takes a long time to master all forms of magic, sensei."

She stands, staring into his eyes as if she was searching for information.

"Deception can be quite amusing. Do you think I might've done that on purpose?"

The question baffles him.

She laughs again, "You have much to learn, young man. Magic is more than being in touch with the environment around you. You must also know the people around you. Magic takes a long time to master, yes, but understanding your fellow man takes longer."

Solomon looks on sternly. 

"I will teach you magic but I will also teach you how to read a room better. You're certainly not an idiot considering your presence but you're very impressionable and naive." 

\---

Solomon is in the House of Lamentation for the fifth time this month. Levi insisted on watching TSL with him after finding out he was a huge fan. It was sweet, he thought, turning his foot into the living corridor. Around the corner, he saw two figures standing at Levi's door. The other human exchange student and her pet. Solomon certainly didn't hate Mammon, he didn't hate anyone but seeing the girl stand so close to the foolish demon really rubbed him the wrong way. _He was brash and loud, obnoxiously braindead when it came to talking to women in particular and this was the demon whom she made a pact with_? He shakes his head and smirks approaching them.

"Hello, MC," Solomon says smiling, ignoring Mammon's presence completely.

"Oh hey, Solomon," she says casually, folding her arms together.

Mammon chimes in loudly despite standing a foot away from the other human, "hey! What are you doing in here?"

Solomon doesn't take his eyes off of MC's face as he responds, "hm, I'm here to spend some time with Levi. We'll be going through the TSL series," his smile doesn't falter but the exasperation in his face is visible, "again. He's very adamant about watching it with me."

Her eyes are peering into his own until she finally gets uncomfortable and looks away, "Sounds like you're both pretty close."

He could swear her face was getting redder.

"We're certainly acquaintances," he leans down and turns his head ever so slightly to see her face, "I heard you made a pact, MC, congratulations."

She whips her head back to him, surprised that word had already gotten around.

"He must've been an absolute idiot to get himself into a pact with a non-magic using human, however. Hopefully you get a better catch next time."

Mammon, who's becoming more annoyed at Solomon's closeness to MC, pipes up, "oi, oi, do you two know each other or something? What's this demon we're talking about?"

Levi's voice on the other side of the door speaks up, "would you stop screaming, Mammon, you're so annoying!"

"Is that you, Levi? Fuck you!"

MC glares at Mammon and punches his arm, "Shut up, idiot, he's never gonna let us borrow the soundtrack if you're an asshole!"

Solomon chuckles. _She's feisty._

"Levi. May I come in?"

The introverted demon brother and the sorcerer exchanged strange phrases with each other for a moment before the two hear a click from Levi's door, "you may enter."

MC scoffs, "Levi, c'mon, will you hear us out? We just need to borrow your limited edition TSL soundtrack for a bit!"

"No," his voice is further from the door when Solomon opens it.

Before he enters, he turns back to MC. Her sudden interest in TSL is innocent at best but he knows better. Her actions around Devildom were akin to plotting and if Lucifer hadn't noticed then surely she was intelligent.

"Maybe watch the series before you come back, MC," his eyes locked in with hers, "come find me if you need anymore help," he winks and closes Levi's door behind him.

\---

"Why is your face so red, MC," Mammon asks roughly pushing her door open.

"It's nothing," she pouts. _Solomon knows_. He at least knows she's up to something; _he seemed less threatening than last time,_ she thinks _._ His wink springs back from the depths of her brain and she blushes again. MC takes his advice and looks up the TSL series.

"There's so many hours of content..."


	6. Chapter 6

Studying at Devildom was fairly easy with Levi's notes. In a week, she had gotten all passable scores miraculously from the brother's precise notes. In her room, MC thumbs her way through the papers she printed out, her mind wandering aimlessly to her thoughts of the demons.

Lucifer: _not to be trusted and definitely hiding something in the attic._

Leviathan: _aggressive otaku, super smart and concise._

Mammon: _a dick, a fool, but loyal. Despite his constant complaining, he was always helpful and would answer most of her questions. He **is** the second oldest brother,_ she thinks _, he probably sees me as some little sister or something._ She pouts. As weird as it was, she had developed a certain fondness to him being around all the time. He would treat her like some lost little kid but it was always from a good place... unlike her boyfriend back at home.

She shoves the thought of him down. _How is he even my boyfriend anymore_? He hadn't contacted her in days. She resumes her list.

Beelzebub: _trusting. The way he carried himself, his honesty, and his respect for keeping their conversations private_. She would come to him for most of her questions she was too afraid to ask the loudmouthed Mammon.

Asmodeus: _the fancy brother._ MC hadn't spoken much to him but from the breakfast table conversations, she could deduce that he was definitely a gossiper, and an absolute icon of makeup and hair.

Satan: _quiet guy_. She saw him in the library most of the time but seemed generally shut off from the other brothers; arguably, more than Levi.

MC stands up from her desk and throws herself onto her bed. Sifting through her apps, she glances over Devilgram again. She hadn't looked through it despite all the brothers insisting she should add them. Her face almost immediately starting changing color. _God, they're all so handsome._

She sees a lot them tagging each other in various photos and realizes the normalcy of them all first. _They're just another family_. All the horror stories of demons feel so far away when she looks at a funny photo of Mammon screaming and clutching onto Lucifer. She laughs, really laughs, for the first time since she's been there. The joy of seeing something so wholesome filling her heart. Even if Lucifer seemed suspicious, she couldn't deny that he was a good brother -- a good family to the rest of them despite his cold exterior. The thoughts of the attic eggs at her but maybe Lucifer wasn't the one being deceptive. _Perhaps the person locked away was dangerous?_

 _I'll decide what to think when I figure out what's up there_ , she thinks decisively.

"Oi!"

"Ah!" She jumps at the sudden knocking on her door. At least she knows who it is this time. Ever since marathoning TSL with Mammon and Beel, they've been stopping by more frequently. Going over homework, talking about classes and teachers; usually only twenty to thirty minutes of her time. Tonight was different.

MC gets up and opens the door. Mammon shoves himself past her, inviting himself in; he's holding a blanket and a backpack with him.

"Oh, yea, come on in," MC says sarcastically closing the door behind her.

"Don't mind if I do!" Mammon drops his bag to the floor. He throws his blanket on her bed and roughly lays back with his hand behind his head. He's visibly annoyed or frustrated from the way he's tapping his foot.

MC notices immediately, "hey, are you okay?"

His eyes are closed, concentrating on not losing it in front of his human, "yea, I'm fine, I'm fine, ain't no thing, just wanted to hang out in here for a while."

 _Judging by his bag, he didn't plan on just spending a few minutes in here_ , she thinks, sauntering over to the couch. She leans her arm over the back of it, looking at Mammon on the bed, still tapping his foot. For a split second, he looks handsome with his eyes closed, not making any noise. She laughs internally, "did you want to stay the night?"

He sits up in a rush and whips his head to her, "of course I'm staying the night and you're not gonna stop me," he raises his thumb to his chest, "I don't know if I told you, but since you're my human, anything that's yours is also mine, you got it?"

 _And just when I was offering to be nice_ , she thinks, debating whether or not she should throw a pillow at him, "oh yea? Well, maybe you should borrow one of my tampons, it looks like you need it."

His face flushes. Mammon balls his fists up dramatically and stands, "oi, oi, how dare you talk to your superior like that!"

Another knock.

MC looks at Mammon. Mammon looks at MC.

She speaks first, "well, go get it."

He surprisingly obliges and stomps towards the door to open it.

Beel is standing in the frame, munching away at a bag of chips. His face desolate of any emotion other than concentration, "hey guys, what's with all the yelling?"

"It's Mammon who's yelling, he won't shut up and tell me what's wrong with him."

"Why, you little brat-" Mammon is cut off by his brother barging in and almost knocking him over by his sheer weight and stride. He casually strolls to the couch and sits opposite of MC. Mouth still full of chips, he speaks, "what's wrong, Mammon? Did Lucifer string you up by your ankles again?"

MC giggles. Beel never says anything that isn't blunt and to the point. They're both looking back at him by the door, standing with his arms crossed like a child, still tapping his foot.

"No, he didn't. It's just my stupid job, okay," he pushes out, scratching the back of his head.

"What? You have a job," MC asks, sincerely surprised that he even has the decency to acquire his own money.

"Of course I have a job, you idiot! How do you think I pay for everything, huh?"

"I don't know, I just figured you sold drugs or something," she laughs heartily.

"Ugh, whatever!" Mammon, rips off his jacket, suddenly feeling heated from the conversation, leaving him in his undershirt.

The younger brother sticks another chip in his mouth.

"Beel, would you buzz off? This is my room and no one invited you!"

His brother stares back at him, hardly flinching, "This is MC's room. I thought we were doing another movie thing tonight."

She looks over at Beel, "I wasn't planning on it but we could. I don't have classes tomorrow so..."

"Yea, me either," Beel says.

Mammon looks as if he's about to burst at the seams as he shuffles through his bag, still annoyed by the younger brother sitting in MC's room. He didn't know what he planned on doing when he was packing his bag to MC's but he knew he didn't want Beel here. He shakes his head, "alright, so let's watch a movie then."

The three of them huddle on the couch to make selections, everyone picking a different genre.

"We aren't watching Demonic Bake Off again, Beel," MC laughs through her words.

Mammon is situated in the middle of them, legs invading both of their personal space, "we could watch a human movie and make fun of it!" He smirks, proud of his own joke.

"They're the exact same as your movies, dumbass."

Mammon smacks his hand on top of her head and ruffles her hair, "call me a dumbass again, see what happens!"

Just as she's about to rip the brother to pieces, Beel's voice interjects, "MC, is your phone ringing?"

They all stop moving for a moment to hear a faint buzz coming from the coffee table. Her phone is lighting up. She reaches her hand out to get it and looks at the name.

Her boyfriend. _Sebastian_.

"Who is it? Are ya gonna pick it up," Mammon asks, peering over her shoulder.

Before she can answer him, she takes the call and hurriedly steps out into the hallway. Beel and Mammon both look at each other confused.

\---

"Hey, MC," his voice is quiet.

"Hey."

She doesn't know what to say. _I've texted you every day, why haven't you answered me? I called you every night, why didn't you pick up? Why are you calling me now?_

"Sorry, I didn't answer your messages. I've been busy." She can hear him smile when he speaks.

She wants to scream at him.

"Um," her voice betrays as it shakes, "what uh, what have you been busy with?"

He chuckles.

"I'll be visiting soon."

She's taken aback. His voice doesn't sound right. The way he's talking as if he's on the verge of going into a laughing fit.

"Why? You haven't even spoken to me since I left."

「Click.」

"Hello?"

She looks at her phone. Call ended.

Livid. That's what she feels. She wants to throw her phone, scream at him for even trying to half ass apologize. _He's visiting? What the fuck is he talking about?_

She needs to cool down before she goes back in her room but the door behind her opens.

It's Mammon.

"MC, you good?"

Tears. That's all he sees when he looks out into the hallway. She didn't realize that her face had gone red and wet with fresh tears. _Of frustration? Disappointment?_ Everything felt so overwhelming all of a sudden and Mammon's soft words melt through her.

"Hey, hey, what's going on," he brings his hand up to her arm, looking into her eyes.

She has nothing to say. In a moment of vulnerability, her head falls and she begins crying, slowing raising her fingers to his shirt, holding onto him; trying to stay grounded.

Mammon hesitantly pulls her closer into a hug, his chin resting on her head, and his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"He said he's coming to visit," she manages to push out.

"Who? What?" He pulls her away from his body and looks at her face.

She wipes away at her eyes and speaks again, "m-my ex," she says reluctantly, "he said he's coming to visit but he hasn't talked to me in weeks, I don't know what he's talking about."

He sees the confusion in her eyes. He almost panics when sees the fear.

"MC. People aren't allowed to just walk into Devildom whenever they want," he sees a second of relief on her face, _why was she afraid_ , "they need a invitation of sorts. Don't worry about, okay? C'mon, scrap that loser and come hang out."

She nods. As he follows her back into the room, ignoring Beel's questions, he watches her sit back down on the couch. He notices her smile but it's only to reassure Beel that she's okay. He feels his heart beat loudly in his chest. He sees her and he decides then that he wants to keep seeing her for however long he has.


	7. Chapter 7

A pact with Levi was the goal.

That's all she thinks when she sees his tail raise high above her head. His aura lashing out around his body, his eyes in a furious rage. _It wasn't supposed to go this far_. Her eyes bulge from her skull, she can hear Mammon behind her yelling profanities at Levi. His horns on his head branch upwards, twisting and mingling with one another. For a moment, she thinks she hears a woman screaming as she gazes on Leviathan's hellscape of thorns.

She saw the tail come down. She wasn't going to be fast enough to move.

A burst of feathers flooded her vision and she felt her body fall to the floor. She was being cradled by someone. Her eyes were still screwed shut until she felt a drop on her cheek. She opened them.

"Levi."

That's all Lucifer said as he looked forward towards the brother. His wings spread broadly, defensively; he protected her from the strike and ended up with a small gash on his forehead. She was terrified of Leviathan but from the way Lucifer gripped her, bleeding all over her, she was almost afraid him as well.

"You're out of control. Go back to your room."

MC looks over at Levi. He almost looks like he's going to cry. His eyes glossed over, looking at Lucifer incredulously. She can tell that guilt and regret are all seething through him right now. _Thank the Father_.

Diavolo steps down from the council chairs, "Did you hear him, Levi?"

The blue haired brother looks up at the future demon king. He makes eye contact only briefly before bowing and rushing out of the hall.

\---

"Ah, careful," MC winces. Back in her room, Mammon is kneeling by her bedside trying to wrap her wrist, albeit poorly. Beel is leaning his shoulder against the wall, watching his brother fail miserably.

"I've never done this before!" He yells, stopping to brush a hand through his hair, "all that trouble just for you to fall on your butt and sprain a wrist. What a klutz."

Watching Mammon stumble through wrapping her wrist over again, she feels guilty. Her eyes go to the floor.

"I'm sorry, guys," she pauses, "I shouldn't have been so brazen with him. I just wanted to get his pact and it went too far..." Her words trail off when she feels the tears prick at the inner corners of her eyes. Even Lucifer had come to her aid. She felt stupid for even trying to rile up the brother.

Beel takes himself off of the wall and sits next to her on the bed, his weight pulling her closer to him. He wraps an arm around her and places a hand on top of her head.

"It's okay, MC. You humans are much more fragile than us, we can handle it. It's not like we haven't fought each other before," he says matter of factly.

This puts her mind more at ease. It was mainly Lucifer she felt responsible for. When they parted ways, he looked upset, like a disappointed parent, and she had hoped it wasn't because of her. The last thing she saw was his hand placed where he got his new cut.

Mammon finishes the bandages and sits back on his butt in front of her, "Yea, don't worry about it, you big baby. Jeez, you cry more than Asmo when he doesn't get his way."

He expects her to punch him but a laugh graces his ears. He looks up at her smiling face.

"Maybe you're right. No more crying, it sucks!" She giggles and sticks her tongue out at him.

His heart flips and shouting is his instinct for some reason, suddenly filled with exuberance, "yea! Yea! No more crying, alright!"

Beel joins in, patting the top of her head, "yea! No more crying," he stops for a moment, "I'm hungry."

MC laughs, "what are you hungry for?"

Mammon gets a text alert from his phone as they talk; it's Levi. He frowns thinking of his brother getting so angry. The older brother knew his own temper wasn't very good either but he never lashed out in demon form and especially not towards a defenseless human girl.

"What's that look for," Beel says poking Mamon in the shoulder.

He ignores his brother, still looking at his phone.

"Hey, MC," he says, texting Levi back.

"Hm?"

"Levi wants to make the pact. He's at the Planetarium if you're still down."

MC closes her eyes and thinks for a moment. _Her concentration is cute_ , Beel thinks, still sitting beside her.

"Alright. He's calmed down now, yea?"

"Pfft. Yea, he feels awful, you should see the texts he sent me. Dude is crying like he broke all of his stupid toys."

She nods, "well, alright. I'll go talk to him."

Mammon stands up and heads for the door, "I'll go with you. Ya know, just in case he decides to eat you instead."

MC lifts herself off the bed and slips on her shoes. Beel offers to come with them but Mammon hurriedly shuts him up, assuring him there's no need, and pushes her out of the room.

"He's the muscle, we should bring him," MC says walking towards the Planetarium. She still couldn't believe how big the house was. _It's very own observatory? Insane._

Following her lead, he looks at her, mouth agape, "He's the muscle? He's the deadweight, all he does is watch from the sidelines! Beels' a walking vending machine, I'm the muscle!"

"I guess you could be built under there," she says offhandedly, "I didn't expect Levi to be so strong. Dude looks like he weighs ninety pounds soaking weight."

"He used to but whenever Beel was born, we all started working out more," he laughs remembering his younger brother when he only came up to his knees, "he could lift me above his head even then, he's a freak, haha."

She smiles.

"You all sound real close."

She hopes he doesn't hear the pang of sadness that tints her words.

Before they know it, they're standing in front of the doors to the Planetarium. Both look at each other and nod before slowing opening the doors to head inside. The ceiling is rounded, towering above them. Projections of constellations and planets strewn about the walls. A gargantuan telescope is centered in the middle of the room, stationed to look out of a huge window in the wall. Levi is a few feet away from it, looking at them sheepishly with his hands in his jacket.

Mammon walks towards him, lifting his sleeves up as if he was going to fight, "alright, hothead, let's settle this one on one!"

Levi deadpans, "what the hell are you doing here?"

He stops walking as MC comes up behind him and pats his shoulder, "he said he wanted to be the muscle."

Levi would've laughed if it was any other situation but instead he looks down at MC, a few feet between them.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Levi."

He stands up straight, getting to business, "I will accept that you are the bigger fan of TSL, MC!"

MC doesn't say anything.

He continues, "I accept it, and further more," he extends a hand out to her, "I will make a pact with you."


	8. Chapter 8

"Are we allowed to be down here so late?"

MC stands in the kitchen, arm crossed, trying to whisper to Mammon who's digging aimlessly through the fridge. She thinks he's going to answer her with some rebuttal but he doesn't.

"Didn't you say I could get in trouble being out of my room this late at night," she asks tiptoeing closer to the fridge door.

He hears her this time, "I said you could get in trouble if you walked around by yourself at night, dumbass. You've got me as your chaperone tonight," his face still hovering over the cold food.

"What are you even looking for?"

"I ain't looking for anything, alright, shut up already," he hisses back, "Ah! I found it!"

MC rolls her eyes.

Mammon gently brings a white plate out from the fridge and places it on the island behind them. He closes the door softly before ripping off the note from the cellophane that adorned the dishware.

She leans on the counter with her elbows and looks at the dish curiously. It seemed regular enough. No weird demonic essence emanating off of it. She blinks, "is it pudding?"

"It's custard," he says smirking devilishly.

She swears he can hear the twang in her heart. MC cranks her neck in his direction, mouth pursed into a thin line, her brows furrowed, "I love custard."

Mammon can't help but laugh at her, "you look insane, MC."

"Did you know I liked custard?" She looks back at the desert, still in cellophane. _Is this poison? No._ She decides that she wouldn't care if it was anyway _._

"I might've gotten a hint from a little birdy," he says smuggily, proud of his own wit.

She pays no mind to it, still staring down the custard as if it were speaking directly to her.

"Here's the deal," he says getting two spoons out, "you have to share, you little gremlin."

She snatches the spoon from his hand, "yea, I can do that."

"And!"

"And?"

He stands next to her and begins to slowly unwrap the delicious treat from its cage.

"You can't tell anyone we ate it."

She processing what he says slowly, "what do you mean we can't- this isn't yours, is it?"

"Ah, ah, ah," he holds his pointer finger up at her, "I'm borrowing it," he finally finishes unwrapping the custard from its plastic holds.

"Are we gonna get in trouble if we eat this..." MC says, debating whether she really cares or not. _It's just a dessert, seems pretty harmless._ She holds her spoon close to it, ready to dig in.

"Only if Beel doesn't find out," Mammon says, lining up his spoon as well.

"What? It's Beels'? We can't eat his food, he's so sweet."

The brother has never looked so offended. His whisper raises volume ever so slightly as he grits his teeth, "Are you kidding me? Didn't he eat your chocolate stash a few days ago?"

She looks intensely into his eyes and back at the custard, lips puckered out in thought, "You're right, let's eat it."

They both place their spoons into the custard and pull a generous piece out. Mammon doesn't take his time immediately placing it into his mouth and going in for another. MC watches him for a moment before taking the first bite. Her eyes glimmer in the candlelight. She swallows and looks at the brother in surprise, "It's so good!"

"Hey, guys, what are you doing?"

Mammon and MC freeze. Beels' voice from the door startled them but making any kind of reaction would make matters worse. Surely, he wouldn't be that mad, she thought until glancing at Mammon's face. His eyes were wide, racking his brain for ideas. She feels the dread wash over her when Beel steps further into the kitchen.

"Is that my custard?"

 _The jig is up! Abort mission! Mammon do something!_ Her brain is screaming at him as she stares at his calculating face.

He shoots his head up to look at Beel and with swift movement, raises his arm above his head and throws his spoon to the wall behind his brother.

"Beel, look out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing at the wall he just threw his spoon at.

MC looks on in horror.

Beel didn't fall for it and his demon form is in full view. She's never seen him so angry looking, _and over custard? Are you serious, Beel?_

She's thinking rapidly, looking at both brothers interchangeably. Her and Mammon were on one side of the island, Beel on the other. Surely they could somehow make a break for the door if they juked him.

It was already too late.

Beel lunges forward, translucent wings spread wide as he tackles Mammon, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him up into the ceiling. Debris fell instantly, the other sides of the second floor breaking apart and falling down from the sheer impact. A book fell in front of her feet and then another and before she knew it, an entire shelf almost crushes her from above.

"Holy shit," she exclaims trying to get to safety. She can hear Beel jump up to the second floor and continue to throw Mammon around. Her head is spinning, _what the hell do I do? My god, they're resilient!_

She looks up from the kitchen into the room Beel is destroying and unfortunately, instantly recognizes who's it is.

" **BEEL, THAT'S MY ROOM**!"


	9. Chapter 9

Lucifer spun on his heel to look back at the three students. He had grilled all three of the students together for four hours now. Mammon tried to lie and tell him they had no idea that the custard was Beels'. MC tried to convince him that they were sorry but that Beels' behavior was unacceptable. Beel's stomach growled. He didn't have much to say other than occassionally bringing up that he was hungry, not realizing that he was in trouble just as much as they were.

"I'm sure as you know, MC," Lucifer saunters to the back of his desk and sits in his chair, fingers laced together, "the room that was completely destroyed was your own. Since construction will take a few weeks, we're going to move you into a temporary room."

She nods.

"Beel," he goes on, getting the attention of the brother who's rubbing his stomach, "don't you have a spare bed in your room?"

The brother nods, still frowning from starvation.

"Then it's decided. MC will stay in Beels' room until construction is done," he pauses and crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair, "I expect better behavior from the two of you at least."

His eyes scan over to Mammon, who's now visibly shivering under Lucifer's glare, "as for you, Mammon. I expect nothing less than horrible from you even after this charade so stringing you up by the ankles is the only solution."

\---

MC struggles with her blanket under her arm as it keeps slipping and dragging along the floor. Beel walks beside her, carrying the majority of her things to move into his room. As he opens the door, she realizes this is the first time she had seen another one of the brother's room.

The room is spacious with a small loft above the two beds. _One side is obviously Beel's_ , she thinks, seeing the orange color scheme and mini fridge next to nightstand. But the other side of the room looked untouched. A blueish, purple hue in its decorations and the bed made neatly. MC stands in the middle of the room awkwardly looking around and back at Beel, not quite sure where to put her stuff. He promptly drops her things in front of his own bed, "I'll sleep in the loft."

She quirks her eyebrow, "why don't I just use the other bed?"

"No," he turns back around quickly, eyes wider than she's ever seen them. His mouth is pursed like he wants to say more but he turns his head and looks down at the floor.

"That's my twin's bed."

His tone sounded so grimm that she didn't know if she should push him into conversing but hesitantly continued anyway, "ah, is that your seventh brother," she asks, remembering what he had told her.

Beel looks at her and nods, his face looking rather serious, "we don't really look like each other but we were born around the same time."

"Ah, I see," MC says, still standing, holding her blanket.

Beel realizes this and apologizes, walking towards her to pick the blanket from her arms, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let you stand there for so long. Do you want to sit down? Do you need any water?"

He looked into her eyes, face slightly tinted red.

"No, I'm okay, thank you, Beel," she smiles. _What a gentlemen_. She never felt like she got a lot of one on one time with Beel, especially when Mammon was always right by her side. _He's always really nice_ , she thought watching him gently put her blanket on the bed. She followed suit, walking towards the bed and sitting down at the end.

The tall brother stands next to the bed, staring down at the pillows in deep thought.

She doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable or upset about the whole situation, and judging from the way he was talking about his twin, too many bad memories had rushed him all in one.

"Hey," she says quietly, looking up at him, his gaze now on her, "if you ever want to talk about anything, I got you." She smiles.

He can feel his heart skip and his instinct pushes him towards her, placing himself on the bed. She realizes he's going in for a hug. _For being so big and tough, he really has a sweet heart._ He holds her close, letting her arms wrap around his neck and shoulders. She closes her eyes, giving into the tender moment. An innocence exuding from such a simple hug. She wondered if any of his brothers showed him affection.

"Can," he begins speaking softly, "can I sleep in this bed with you tonight?"

Her eyes pop open, "um," she doesn't reel back from the hug, "I mean, yea, that should be fine," she says, cursing herself as soon as she gets the words out. _Maybe that's not a good idea._ She has a feeling he wouldn't try anything too touchy, but the thought of being in a bed with another man was almost too taboo. Sebastian flashes in her mind. _He said he'd be here. He said it he'd be **here**._

She pulls away and gives Beel an uneasy smile and pat on the shoulder, "it's been a long day. I think I'm gonna chill for a bit, okay?"

Beel pays no mind, "sure, of course," he says standing up and making his way towards his door, "I'm gonna go grab a snack, do you want anything?"

"Oh man," she says exasperated, "yes, please."


	10. Chapter 10

She hears her name.

The stair case that winded to the attic looked daunting. She had finally worked up the courage to give Lucifer the TSL soundtrack she had won against Levi, and now that he was occupied, her curiosity got the best of her.

She _knows_ she heard her name.

A ghostly, whisper on the wind, her name was drawn out and compelling her up the stairs. The night was still and calm for most everyone in Devildom but she could feel her heart beat loudly and her own blood rush through her veins. The closer she got to the top, the more she wondered if this was really a good idea. Her small footsteps making the smallest creaks on the boards.

The stairs led to a door much like the rest of the house. She turned the handle to reveal a hallway, small and much more narrow then the downstair halls. A flickering candlelight at the end sent a shiver up her spine. _There **was** someone up here._

Making her way down the hall, she heard small movement of fabric as she got closer to a door that looked more like jail cell bars. It was a guy, around her age, standing there, hands clasped onto the bars. She gasped when she saw him, not expecting to meet her ghostly voice so quickly.

"It's you! I knew you heard me!" He plead quietly so that only she could hear, "please, you have to help me!"

His appearance looked normal despite it being slightly hard to make out his face. Black hair albeit the white streaks in it, a hoodie and baggy pants. She noticed immediately that he didn't seem like he was in pain or hurt at all.

"Who are you? What are you doing up here?" She said, hugged against the wall in front of the bars.

"I'm a human! Like you! Please, you have to get me out of here. Lucifer trapped me in this room..." His voice trailed off.

MC's eyes sharpened to the young man. She spoke without tone, "how did you know I was human?"

He looks up, unphased by the prying question, "are you? Human, I mean? You look normal! Your eyes aren't a weird color like a lot of those demons."

She pursued her lips. Something about the way he was talking threw her off. His tone or his attitude seemed feigned.

"Why did Lucifer stick a human up here?" She decided to question him further, seeing how much he would tell her.

"He kidnapped me! I swear, will you hear me out?" He leans forward from the bars and she sees his eyes finally. _Ah, his eyes._

"They're purple. Your eyes."

His hands tightened around the bars. She could tell that pissed him off, "tch, my eyes? That's what you're worried about right now," he questions, his voice lower no, "you're not here to save me. You're here to fuck with me."

"You said you could tell I was human because of my eyes. Human eyes aren't purple and you're sure as fuck not wearing contacts."

He thought about lying to her again but this bit was getting tiresome. He sighs and takes his hands off the bars, folding his arms in annoyance.

"Fine. I'm not human, does it matter anyway?"

Her eyes widened, "holy shit, I knew it! I knew there was something weird about you!"

He rolls his eyes and looks off to the side, "are you still gonna help me or what?"

"Why did you lie?" _Was he some kind of evil demon?_

"Why not? You humans usually help one another in perilous situations. Figured it help me."

"Who are you?"

He laughs, "wouldn't you like to know. Listen," he sits down on the floor, crossing his legs together. She follows suit.

"I have a proposition for you. I need to get out of this cell. I need you to make pacts with the brothers downstairs in order to get me out, do you understand?"

"I already have two pacts. What's in it for me?" She was no idiot to a deal and with him behind enchanted bars, she felt more comfortable bargaining his freedom. Even if she might eventually disagree with the deal, her curiosity was never satiated and needed to no more. She spent so long trying to get up the stairs, might as well get all she could out of it.

"I can tell you what your boyfriend is up to."

Her body felt cold.

"I know you got a call from him. I still have a fraction of magic to use for communication and I heard your conversation. He's still in the human world but I can tell you whenever he arrives here."

She looks at him intensely. This couldn't have been a bluff and the use for him now was especially important. Maybe she would agree after all.

She spoke looking away from him, seeing her own memories in the distance, "there are plenty stories in the human world about demons being untrustworthy. My neighborhood had a demon who murdered and ate his own boyfriend in their apartment," she looks back at him, eyes locked with his own, "how do I know I can trust you?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. _Her tenacity is sexy_ , was all he thought for a brief second before answering, "ask Beel about his twin. I'm sure he'll sound familiar."

Dots connect in her brain and she immediately blurts out, "you're his twin?"

His smile splits across his face, "smart girl."

She had framed it more as a question but the answer was there nonetheless. She almost couldn't believe it. Beel's twin was the exact opposite of him. Smaller framed, darker features, and a less than honest personality. She recalls Beel's sad face and tender hug after talking about his twin. _Fucking empathy_.

"Alright. I just need to make pacts with all of them?"

He held the smug look on his face, "that's it. Whenever you get the last pact, come back to me. We got a deal?" The mysterious brother stuck his hand out of the bars, ready for a handshake.

She nodded and took his hand, "deal."

They shake and retract their hands. MC gets up from the floor while the twin stays sitting, looking rather comfortable, "If your piece ever gets here, you'll hear me as you've heard me before."

 _Piece_.

"Alright, that sounds good." She takes a few steps forward before stopping and turning back around, "hey. What's your name?"

He leans his head on the palm of his hand, resting his elbow on his leg. He closes his eyes, some peace finally filling him. He speaks softly, "Belphegor."


	11. Chapter 11

MC yawned. Waking up in Beel's room, in Beel's bed, was still weird even after a few days. Her room was already halfway done, however, and that made her happy. While she liked Beel's company, having the privacy to walk around in underwear and sleep naked was missed. She rubbed her eyes, and threw the sheets off of herself before moving her legs to the edge of the bed. The room was always quietest in the mornings but from what she could hear, or rather lack thereof, Beel wasn't upstairs in the loft. Searching around the room for a sign of where he could be, she noticed his shoes at the front door were missing. _Must be out_ , she thought, absent mindedly grabbing her towel and clothes. The weekends at Devildom weren't really something she ever looked forward to but sometimes Mammon would pop by and hang out with her, or Beel would have them go down into the kitchen and make meals. Most days were spent alone, almost by choice, keeping herself locked away in her room, not sure what she was allowed to do and not really wanting to find out.

Finishing up her little morning routine, MC takes the time to walk into the hallway and look out one of the many windows. It's always dark in Devildom, but today wasn't as gloomy looking as usual. The sky had a hue of purples and pinks as if it was stuck in a perpetual sunset. _It's beautiful,_ she thought. A creeping sadness loomed inside of her. In a way, she missed the blue sky up top.

"It's a sight, isn't it?"

Solomon's voice startles from her haze, and she turns her head to see him walking up next to her.

Being caught off guard, she almost forgets that she doesn't like him for a moment. He looks downright handsome in his black turtleneck. But quickly remembers why he annoys her after seeing his smirk that was ever present.

"How was the attic?" He asks bluntly, in a hushed tone.

She furrows her eyebrows at him and pouts, "That's a dumb question," turning her head back to the window and crossing her arms. She isn't bothered. _Of course he would know_. _He's so nosy._

His laugh hits her ears, genuine and pleasant, she realizes and looks back at him.

"Alright, alright, I won't ask again. You're quite the mover though. It's impressive."

She's looking away, "Whatever."

She sees him ever so often when she attends classes but usually he's cooped up in the celestial wing of the house with the heavenly transfer students. She wonders why he's over here.

"Your face is cute like that."

Her eyes widen, a harsh redness spreads across her face. Her mouth opens to protest and call him a weirdo for even looking at her but she forgets what she wants to say when he holds his hand out.

"Huh?" She looks at it and then at his face for further explanation.

"Do you want to come to the marketplace with me today?" He asks confidently, knowing she'll say yes to him to, at least, get out of the House of Lamentation for a bit.

She doesn't know what to say but she knows she doesn't want to stay in Beel's room all day again. _With Solomon? He **is** kind of hot_, she ponders.

"Hm," she scrunches her face only for it to pop back to normal after thinking over her answer, "okay."

"I promise not to leave you stranded in the villa," he says smiling, hand still out towards her, "but we have to hurry before your fans see you."

"My fans?" _Ah, he must be talking about the brothers,_ she thinks, realizing they're practically glued to her hip if she's out of her room, "right."

She moves her hand up towards his to hold it. Their hands clasps and she feels like a dumb school girl for a minute. She hated when he popped up but couldn't help and challenge his own game that he played whenever he was around. But now they were equals. No games being had; just two young adults, holding hands, going shopping. He takes the lead in front of her and follows him outside of the house to the side. A little ways towards the brush and trees, he stops in his tracks and mumbles something under his breathe.

MC tries to inch closer to hear what he's saying but stops when his other hand comes up and draws a circle in the air in front of them, opening some kind of rift in the fabric of space.

"Woah, what the fuck is this?" She says, gazing at it like a child.

"It's just a portal. Not even intermediate magic," he laughs.

She wants to punch him in the face but she doesn't let go of his hand.

He steps through first, one foot on the other side and his hand holding her firmly, "c'mon, it's not scary," he holds out his other hand.

She takes it and hesitantly steps closer to him and the portal. Her foot moves into the void. She gasps when she feels her shoe hit ground below that she can't see.

He let's go with one hand and places it around her waist, "it's okay. C'mon," he says playfully.

They finally step all the way through to the other side, her eyes closed shut as he leads her. She hears the portal close behind them and squints her eyes open. _Wow_.

The villa was brightly lit, lights strung up to the trees and buildings, intertwining across the open streets. Cobblestone walkways, shop windows heavily decorated and displaying clothes, baking goods, various jewelry. She marvels at how similar it looked to the tourist photos of Italy she'd seen. Solomon watches her eyes light up and he can't tear his gaze away. There was something about this girl. She never looked at him like the way she was ogling at the stores in front of her. He wondered if one day maybe she would.

"Where to?" He asks, still staring at her eyes.

She glances at him for a second only to bring her attention back to the rows of stores. 

"Um," she begins walking further down the road. All the shops were incredibly beautiful and it was hard to choose which one she would go into first. One catches her eye; a large wooden sign simply reading 'Antiques.' She looks over at Solomon, "have you been there before?" He shakes his head, "no! Let's check it out, huh?"

The store is slightly cramped, giving them hardly any space to really make any distance between one another. The owner greets them -- an older demon, her voice is low but welcoming. MC sees that she isn't one of the human demons and instead, rather sheep-like in appearance, even down to her hands. _Her hands?_ She double takes to the shop owner and sees that she is, in fact, exactly like a sheep except for her very human hands where the hooves are supposed to be. MC whips her head back to the shelves and almost bumps into Solomon doing so.

"Are you okay?" He asks curiously.

"Yea, yea," she keeps her eyes busy on the shelves in front of her, trying to forgot what she saw, "I'm good, I'm cool."

Solomon looks on at the same shelf. He points at a small figurine, a manticore, and smiles, "hey, I found a statue of you."

MC looks to the figure and scoffs, "I had no idea they sold my statues here. I'm pretty buff under all these clothes, you know."

"Ah, really? You should show me sometime," he says, trying to tease her.

"You're so dumb," she says, humorously. _Maybe Solomon wasn't so bad. The man had jokes._

She follows the shelves to another set of figures, all displayed in a case with runes inscribed to the glass.

She calls over Solomon, "hey, do you think I should break this open?"

Solomon made no hesitation in his answer, looking completely unphased, "yes."

She laughed. She almost expected him to give her some snarky comment about not understanding magic and the importance of runes, or whatever, but his dry humor was welcome.

"MC, look at this!"

She turned around to see him facing the back wall, covered in shelves of books and ancient (probably cursed) dishware. She walks over to him and sees his hand placed over a book with a old leather cover.

"What's that?"

He looks at her, with a serious expression on his face. His eyes pierced into her own. She steps back, not expecting such intesity. She's hesitant to ask again but he didn't answer the first go.

"Wha-what is it?"

He shakes his head, sneering back at the object in his hand.

"How could you not know?"

She looks at him, concerned and worried.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw it."

"Why? What is it?" She asks again, worried about what answer awaited her.

"MC," he pauses, "it's a book."

She blinks.

"Haha, what? Not funny?" His lips form a goofy smile.

 _That was supposed to be a joke?!_ She truly cannot understand him. _He's a great actor,_ she notes. _But maybe his humor was too dry!_

"I was worried you were going to say it was a necronomicon or something!"

He chuckles and stuffs the book under his arm before pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Nope! Just a book. A book about some old demons though, so I might as well buy it!" He says, looking happy with himself.

"You're so weird."

\---

"Look at this one," he says pointing at the book.

MC sips her drink greedily at a table in front of a demonic cafe that Solomon apparently frequently. They sit close enough for MC to lean over and look at his new purchase.

The words, she couldn't understand at all, but he points to a picture of a demon more akin to the likes of Lucifer. Gorgeous and sculpted like a god, but his expression rather frightening and cold.

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?"

"I sure hope not," he looks at her, observing her reaction, "this is Shokujinki. He's known as the human-eating spirit in Japan. Very elusive, but recently in the last decade, people have said he's been popping more frequently."

"Human-eating? I thought all demons did that. Does he at least ask before he's going to eat them?"

"I'm afraid not. He specializes in eating the physical corpse. Most demons just eat your essence and leave the body."

"Damn. How rude," She takes more sips of her drinks, "hm." A memory jogs back to her. One that she's thought about too many times during her stay.

"My neighbor got eaten by a demon. Do you think it was him?"

Solomon put his hand under his chin in contemplation, "well, did he look anything like this?"

MC thought back to the headlines, "I can't remember what he looked like. I tried avoiding the story as much as I could, shit was weird," she continues, remembering as if she was back in the human realm, in her apartment when it all went down, "it was super scary cause it happened only a few houses down from me. My boyfriend," she stops herself, "at the time... he was completely calm about it. Said there was no reason to freak out but he's an idiot."

"Jeez, do I hear some animosity?" Solomon smirks cheekily at her, cheek pressed into his hand with his elbow resting on the table.

"Mm," she could tell him about Sebastian. About his call. Mammon knows. Belphegor knows. Solomon knowing didn't seem all too bad. He knows she's always up to something and hasn't ratted her out to Lucifer. The concentration on her face is apparent.

"He didn't talk to me the entire time I was here but," she looks down anxiously, "a few weeks ago, he said that he was going to be visiting soon."

Solomon raises an eyebrow, his smile falling fast, "visiting? Humans can't just walk into Devildom."

"I told Mammon and he said the same thing but I don't know," her heart is beating faster, "the way he said it. He was so sure."

A ringing crawled into her ears. It was distant at first and she looked up at the lights above. One flickered and then another. The sound of wind became louder and a soft voice spoke from it,

_**"He's here."** _


	12. Chapter 12

The once vibrant sky turns grey and cloudy.

Diavolo turns a faint smile. He faces the open air. His stance, powerful, his arms behind his back. He's at the top of the steps to the House of Lamentation. Barbatos is by his side, eyes closed in concentration.

Lucifer bursts through the door to the outside, "Lord Diavolo," he looks perturbed as he walks up to his superior, hands gripping at his sides.

"Hello, Lucifer," the heir to the Demon King says, calmly, "it's good to see you."

The oldest brother stands next to him, eyes on the cities below, "there's a horrible aura surrounding Devildom. Both of our human transfer students are missing. You don't think-" Diavolo raises his hand, cutting Lucifer's sentence short.

The once charismatic glow in his face has diminished and yet, his smile ever present, finding the situation ironic, "how foolish I've been."

Lucifer shakes his head, gritting his teeth, "no. It is my fault, Lord Diavolo. I should've paid closer attention to him, to the humans, please-" He is cut off once again.

"No need, my friend."

The air shifts in and out towards the House, like the area is captured in the wake of a large creature. A looming threat just over the horizon.

Barbatos senses it first, his eyes shooting open and head up towards the sky. A light, dim but orange and fiery falling towards them. The clouds above swirl manically and erratically the closer the glimmering star falls.

 _It's going to hit the bottom of the steps_ , Lucifer braces its final drop. It crashes into the ground, dust and stone immediately kicking up, the light of the star no longer in sight. Diavolo and Barabatos stand tall against the flurry of wind and fire that shoot out from the initial impact. The rubble beneath them, cracking and falling.

And then, silence.

Diavolo's smile has faded, a crease in the corner of his nose is present as he squints at the dust, now clearing itself away. He crosses his arms.

Lucifer's hands clench tightly. His horns protrude from the top of his head and wings spread out behind his superior.

"It's been a long time, your majesty," a voice, low and smooth, bellows from the clearing. At the bottom of the steps, a man stands, unscathed and clear from the kicked up dirt. His hair is black, curled long and runs down his back to his hips. He adorns a simple black dress shirt tucked into his dress pants. His eyes are holes in his head, only single rings, bright like the sun, resemble his irises.

Diavolo smirks grimly, "you should've told me you were visiting," he pauses, "I would've prepared a party for you."

The man at the bottom laughs akin to a hyena. His teeth are mangled and pointed.

"How kind of you," he says, still paying no mind to the future Demon King's underlings.

"Although," Lord Diavolo takes a step down, his voice controlled, "I didn't expect you to be back so soon. I do remember banishing you, hm?"

"I'm just passing through," he smiles wide, "more of an escort, really."

Lucifer is seething. He stands closely behind his Lordship, aura seeping out from him like a dreadful poison. He remembered this demon when he had first parted ways with his Father. Many times the students would whisper his name but even his brothers knew not to mention him, especially around Lord Diavolo. Banished twenty years ago to the human realm. Perhaps Diavolo felt as though he would learn something being stripped away from most of his power. But as Lucifer glared into his soulless eyes, he could tell there would be no discussing of peace today. _Shokujinki was here_.

\---

MC shoots up from her chair.

Solomon, surprised, jumps at her sudden movement, "MC! What's wrong with you," he asks genuinely concerened. She thinks she's going to throw up. Her head moves erratically, looking around the villa. _Is he here in the marketplace? Is he close?_

Her adrenaline is pumping but she manages to keep her breathing somewhat steady, trying to desperately avoid a panic attack.

"Solomon, can we go back to the House?"

The sorcerer stands up, still confused of the situation and tries to bargain, "we only just arrived, what's wrong, MC," he moves a hand out to touch her but she slaps it away.

'I just want to go back! Please!" Her voice is quivering, her face pale, but no tears. _She's afraid. Of.. me? No._

"Alright," he purses his lips and enchants a portal into clear view beside their table. He steps halfway in and holds out a hand to her. She takes it once more.

But she doesn't continue through.

Arms are wrapped around her waist and pull her back from Solomon's grasp.

"MC!" He screams out, seeing the assailant throw her back to the ground.

The man turns around, hand out towards the portal and a few feet from Solomon's face, muttering an incantation Solomon knew all too well. A destruction spell. He throws his arms in front of his head defensively. An explosive blast hurls the young sorcerer back to the other side, into the House of Lamentation's garden, the portal destroyed along with it.

"Fuck!" He yells out, feeling his body bruised from the impact, the heat from the flames burning most of the sleeves off of his turtleneck. The grass in front him, burnt to a crisp. Small sigils and symbols tattooed to his arms had protected him from the immediate damage that the fire might've caused to his skin. He realizes that MC will have nothing to protect herself. He heaves himself up.

The door to the garden is pushed open by Asmodeus, who's out of breathe from running.

"What the hell is going on out here," he screams from the safety of the House. _It must've been loud._

"Solomon!" He yells hysterically, running to his damaged form.

"Oh my word," Asmo's hands pick and prod, checking for any serious injuries, "what happened to you-" he glances behind him and jerks his hand to his mouth, aghast, "what happened to my viperlilies?!"

Mammon barges out from the garden's entrance door, "oi, oi, Asmo, what's going on-" he sees Solomon, sleeves burnt and torn, but it's the expression on his face when he realizes something is terribly wrong.

"Where's MC?" He blurts out.

Solomon begins speaking but is stopped by a sharp pain in his lung, his hand shooting up to it, "she's in the villa, we were just in the villa but there's someone dangerous with her. He knows magic and caught me off guard," _shit,_ he curses himself for letting the mysterious stranger sneak up on him, "I can open a portal back but we have to be careful."

Asmo, who's almost in tears, helps Solomon steady himself, "we need to make sure you're okay as well," he turns to look at Mammon, "Mammon, go get Lucifer and bring him back here."

"We don't have time, he said she with someone dangerous right now, at this very moment," he looks to Solomon, "open the portal, I'm going through."

Asmo opens his mouth to protest but Solomon throws his hand back and recites his spell without question.

The rift opens in the same spot, in front of the burnt grass. Mammon doesn't hesitate and runs through. He can hear his brother curse him. He runs through so fast that he almost runs into the table the two were sitting at before. _But where was MC?_


	13. Chapter 13

MC had ran into the forest nearby. But Sebastian was faster.

His bodyweight pushed her into the ground, her face shoved into the dirt. He tied the rope around her wrists quickly, _he was in a rush_ , her sweat making it hard to keep a grasp. She wanted to yell out for someone to help her but help from a demon might not be much help at all. She didn't want to show fear. She was terrified.

"Get the fuck off of me!" MC spit like venom, struggling to heave herself up and away from Sebastian.

He still hadn't said a word. He stood and pulled her up by the arms. She looked at his face -- gaunt and withered. His eyes looked sunken in as he stared down. All he did was smirk at her otherwise murderous look.

He grabs her arm and pulls her to the clearing in front of them. There was a large stone, around her height, protruding out of the ground. With a shove, he pushes her into it, causing her to stumble and collide, almost falling over from not being able to catch herself properly.

She turns her head, wailing at him, "what the fuck is wrong with you-" she stops. She wishes to say more but his hand is raised in front of her. She can only see his palm, mere inches from her nose.

He mutters another phrase under his breathe, and her limbs gravitate harshly towards the stone as if she was metal to a magnet.

 _Magic. Magic like Solomon uses_. Magic, like the kind she never bothered to learn.

"When, how did," her head is spinning. Her boyfriend never mentioned an interest in magic? _Why had he learned now? Why was he acting so malicious?_

"What the fuck," is all she could muster out.

Sebastian lowered his palm from her face, his eyes looking through her more than at her. His gaze follows the top of her head and up into the sky.

"I've had a lot of time," he speaks quietly. She would've barely heard him if her nerves weren't on high alert, "so much time to think."

She shakes her head back and forth slowly; she's horrified, _he looks fucking crazy._

The clouds above darken and twist around the forest. He felt so peaceful in the open air of Devildom.

"Thank you, MC."

"Sebastian, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?" She pleads to him.

He smiles, still looking up, "You're going to be my sacrifice, MC," he looks down at her, smile twisted into a grimace, "aren't you excited?"

\---

Mammon is sprinting through the villa, stopping any demon he can.

_Have you seen a human, she looks like this! Have you seen a human girl around here? MC! MC!_

He calls her name but no answer. He rounds another street corner. _Please, MC, please, just fucking answer me!_

\---

Lucifer steps forward toward Shokujinki once more, passing a step from Diavolo. He waits for his superior to command him to step down. Diavolo says nothing -- a silent agreement between the both of them. An undying servitude that Lucifer reminds himself of everyday and especially now.

His wings propel him forward into the sky above the formerly banished demon. Protecting Lord Diavolo, protecting his brothers -- he would not let this demon step any closer to the House. The oldest brother, fallen angel Lucifer summons the wind to cut like knives against Shokujinki down below. He raises both arms to the sky. Summoning circles on his gloves command a great blue fire emerging from the clouds to rocket down like a hail storm. A burst of energy being released into the ground, collapsing the steps to the House even more. A column of smoke and rubble scatter below Lucifer.

Lord Diavolo and Barbatos look on, awaiting the demons' next move.

But as the smoke clears, Shokujinki is gone.

\---

"What the fuck do you mean a sacrifice," she asks quietly, not being able to process the situation, "what the fuck is wrong with you?!"

He laughs. _I'm so excited,_ Sebastian thinks to himself awaiting the arrival of his teacher.

MC snaps. She wanted answers and he was _laughing_ at her.

"Why are you doing this to me, you fucking asshole?!"

Sebastian stops. He cranes his neck back to his former lover's face, his lips parting ever slightly, "MC," his gaunt eyes bore into her own, "this isn't about you."

She doesn't know what to say.

He begins laughing again, "none of this is about you. This is about me. Me, me, me," his mantra becoming more crazed, his hand going to his face and doubling over in laughter.

All she could do was watch in horror. A dreadful energy radiating from the man in front of her. The sky swirled angrily above. MC looked up and felt hopeless. The wind rapidly shifting, swinging her hair around defiantly.

A rift rips through the air. She notes that while it looked similar to Solomon's, the opening around it was on fire. A man emerges from the flames like a newborn hell spawn. As she stares in awe of his presence, her heart sinks. She remembers where she is. Devildom wasn't just a place where she went to school anymore. It was Hell. Hell -- where people died and burned alive to atone for their sins. Demons sold souls of the living, ate the innocent, thrived on the anguish of others, including their own. The two men before were no different. What she could only assume was Sebastian's master by the way he bowed at the waist, made her heart sink even further. She didn't want to die not being able to even fight back. Her thoughts felt foggy.

A soft voice trickled into her ear.

 _A woman_.

She speaks softly. MC can't make out anything she's saying but her voice almost feels as if it was coming from inside her.

Shokujinki speaks to Sebastian, "ah, you found me my sacrifice. Holding up on your promise, I'm very pleased."

He straightened up from bowing and nodded his head, "of course. All I have to do is release the pact after you eat her, right? And then..." He trails off, out of breathe and energy. Using all the excessive magic and strength from earlier burned through the rest of the calories that clung to his cells. It was apparent to the demon that he was going to be easy to dispose of. Two easy meals before his eyes. The long wait of one hundred years to return to Devildom and now he could finally regain his power.

"Yes, young man," he lays a hand on his shoulder, "then your prize."

Sebastian smiles, a feeling of relief through all the work he had put in getting to this realm. To appease his master. To finally know what a human could do with demonic power. He watched silently as Shokujinki sauntered towards MC.

She was too focused on the voice to notice the demon encroach on her. A stirring in heart, she felt heat pulse through her body. A powerful feeling just below the surface.

Shokujinki took her chin in his hand, shocking her away from her focus. She furrowed her eyebrows. Before he could say anything, she spit at his face.

He reels back, disgusted, wiping his face, "you pig."

He pulls his hand back and slaps her.

The weight of his strength crashing down shocks her but surprisingly grows the inner heat that's spreading around her body. She looks back at him, eyes furious and wild. MC feels the radiant energy burn through to her very core. The bonds to the stone feeling weaker around her, the rope on her wrists melting like wax in a fire. Shokujinki, amused, watches her transformation casually.

"What power you have, human," he says exuberantly, "two sorcerers for me? What a wonderful way to begin the day."

A white light blinds the two men standing before her. Shokujinki tries to see through but to no avail. Sebastian cowers to the ground, feeling the magical chaos in front of him.

MC had made a pact with Mammon. A pact that bound them together until she died. The voice inside her was louder now. She knew it. Someone who had also been close to Mammon. A love so bright that it blinded everything around her.

MC broke from her bonds, hands clenched up to her sides. _A pact can let you summon a demon to do your bidding._

_**"MAMMONー!"** _


	14. Chapter 14

Mammon sprinted to the forest's edge, huffing from exertion, looking out into the trees. _If MC was kidnapped and dragged in there,_ he thought to himself, _there's no way I'll get to her on time_.

"Shit," he took a step over the tall grass, determined to find his friend.

 _Friend_. His human was his friend and he wanted to protect her. As he scraped through the brush, he had a churning in his stomach. He felt sickly. He just wanted to hold her. To make sure she was okay.

A gust of wind rushes through and almost topples him over.

"Gah! What the hell?" He looks up through the leaves to the sky. There was an ominous glow.

He felt mesmerized, compelled to keep looking further into the white light. He could swear it was coming down closer to him. He only realized it wasn't when his feet were lifted from the ground. Mammon didn't scream. He felt a strange sense of peace looking up into the light. It was heavenly, nostalgic. A feeling he would've felt when he was angel all those years ago. Just as he got close enough, he raised his hands up, trying to grasp it. Suddenly he's blinded. He doesn't know where he is. The whiteness around him showing no signs of above or below. He feels ethereal.

And then anger.

Mammon's wings spread wide and his horns pierce through his skull. He's pushed back into the ground and sees the grass in front of him. His sight is still hazy, but looking up, he sees two figures. A violent surge rips at his soul. It's MC's emotions. Swelling and intermingling with his own. He slowly turns his head to look behind him.

She's standing there. A furious energy spiralling around her. Beautiful and chaotic, it becomes clear that she's summoned him.

She's summoned him. 

_To fight._

_To fight for her._

He turns his head back to the assailants in front of him, now clear in vision. Shokujinki and presumably, a peon of his.

Sebastian tries collect himself and stands up shakily. The sweat on his forehead dropping down to his chin. He throws his hand out in front of him. _If I hit this demon with all I've got, he won't stand a chance._

Shokujinki furrows his brows, unsure of how truly powerful the second oldest brother could be with his new found sorcerer.

Mammon doesn't move. He whispers, feeling that MC could hear him, "I'm sorry it took me so long."

His eyes glare up at Shokujinki, his mouth now in a snarl.

He rockets forward, his speed much greater than before.

Sebastian sets off a destruction spell at him, trying to protect his master. The explosion hits the ground in front of them, rock flying in all directions. He gasps. Mammon's hand grabs him by the throat. His feet aren't on the ground anymore. Sebastian can see Shokujinki peer through the kicked up debris and he pleads inwardly for his master to save him. He had a pact with him. _Protect me!_

He feels his body get pierced. He doesn't know how deep but Mammon's hand is through his stomach and out the other side of his back.

The demon drops him to the floor, turning on his foot to focus his attention to his old enemy of Devildom.

Sebastian cranes his neck to his master.

_Ah, he's smiling._

He feels himself grow cold and closes his eyes for the long sleep ahead.

Shokujinki claps, "haha! Very good! The Great Mammon, so full of rage, it's quite amusing, really-"

He doesn't get another word out as Mammon tackles into him, dragging his body into the forest at the speed of sound. He's pushing him through trees, breaking them down as they push further out. He runs Shokujinki into the ground and holds him there by his torn collar, his clothes now ripped and cuts lacerated across his body now. He's astonished.

Mammon brings his fist up and down to the demon's face. His head bounces off of the forest floor. He isn't going to be able to handle this. Mammon's eyes are animalistic, craving to see him bleed more. Another strike across his jaw. He needs to get away.

He shoves fingers into one of Mammon's ribs hoping to deter his next punch. The jolt of pain surprises him and he jumps up.

 _This is my chance!_ Shokujinki jerks himself up and creates a rift below him, plummeting the elder demon into another part of Devildom. The portal closes as fast as it opens.

Mammon breathes heavily, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He can only hear himself for a moment. The wind of the forest dies down and his heart slows its pace. He looks at the damage for a moment. His demon form becoming a dim light, his horns recede back. He sighs in relief and follows the trail he had made back.

\---

MC falls to her hands and knees suddenly feeling extremely weak and exhausted. Whatever great magic had entered her had now left swiftly. Her head definitely hurt.

She looks out into the clearing. She felt like she was dreaming. Small fires from the explosion that she saw peppered the grass. The trees in the forest, fallen and split.

MC looks over to the body on the ground. She stands up and shuffles towards it, stumbling over her feet. She knows who it is.

She stops at his side, peering down at his face. His eyes are closed. Blood had poured out around him, spilling into the dirt, and yet, he looked so peaceful. Her eyes felt heavy and tired. Tears began falling: one then two, and a few more. She didn't sob. Standing over Sebastian's body, she felt a sadness different than losing someone she loved. She had already given up on him and he had already done the same a long time ago.

In a haze, she moves her feet towards the path of broken down trees. She didn't look back.

\---

Mammon heard twigs snapping in front of him and quickened his pace. He saw her in the distance and yelled, "Oi! MC!"

She looks up.

Seeing his face, her heart swells. She runs to his arms.

He holds her close, his hand on the back of her head, pulling her into his chest.

She let the tears flow again.

Mammon doesn't say anything.

They both walk back to the House, hand in hand.


	15. Chapter 15

They had walked the entire way. In the far distance, Mammon and MC can see the House of Lamentation atop the hill. As Mammon walks up to the gate, they let go of each other's hands. A small creak and it opens easily, he turns around and smiles, "they're kind of more for decoration," referring to large iron fence around the estate.

MC nods, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She wants to smile more but the exhaustion keeps her down. Happy, sad, confused, upset; no emotions strongly stood out to her in the moment. Perhaps relief to be heading back to a bed she could lay in. Mammon began walking forward, gesturing MC to follow him. She turns her head back to the villa and the forest one last time.

\---

Lucifer, no longer in his demon form, stands at the top of the steps with Lord Diavolo and Barbatos. The grunt workers, Little D's, begin their reconstruction to the damaged steps below.

Diavolo crosses his arms, looking down at the busy bodies, "well, I am certainly glad we aren't in the human world."

Lucifer quirks an eyebrow at him.

His friend smiles brightly, "could you imagine the talk around town? The home association would be knocking at every door! They'd probably give us a one star review for endangering the neighborhood!"

Lucifer sighs remembering he was just trying to protect his _idiot_ friend, "I don't think the home association would kick us out for a terrorist attack."

Diavolo puts his hand under his chin in thought, "hm, perhaps you're right."

Barbatos interjects as he sees two figures walking towards the House, "our exchange student, sir."

Lucifer and Diavolo whip their heads to the bottom of the stairs. Mammon and MC stand awkwardly as Little D's rush up to them handing them shovels and hard hats.

Mammon drops the shovel, "oi, oi! I'm not here to help clean up your mess, you little cretins!"

"Mammon!" Lucifer yells from the top.

He flinches, never comfortable with his older brother screaming his name. He sees Lucifer's hand move up above his head and without warning, a fireball comes flying down right in front of him, scaring him senseless.

"WHA-" he trips on himself and falls over, "what was that for?!"

Lucifer's glare is deadly even from a distance. He raises his voice once more, "get up here, now!" The oldest brother doesn't know why or when Mammon had dragged MC out of the House but he was sure that punishment would be long and painful.

Mammon narrows his eyes and pouts. He looks to MC who's still dazed off, still holding the hard hat that the Little D had given her. His wings emerge from his back as he walks up to her. She snaps out of it for moment realizing how close he is and looks up at his face. For some reason, he feels the need to avert his gaze, throwing his hands on his hips.

"I'm gonna fly you up to the top, okay?"

 _Huh?_ She looks at him then up at the steps, "okay?"

"Tch, so I gotta carry you," he says, embarrassed that he had to explain further.

"Oh," she notices the way his arms are ready for her to climb into and suddenly she feels a rush of the school girl butterflies all come back to her. She goes to reach for him but stops, realizing who they were about to talk to.

"Wait," she says, pulling her arms back.

"What!" Mammon yells, already bothered.

"We can't tell your brother or Lord Diavolo about," she pauses, feeling tired from the surge of magic energy, "you know, the lightshow." Her hands pull to her chest, "or Sebastian."

He stunned for a moment, realizing the terribly gaunt sorcerer must've been... _him_. _That asshole she was so freaked out about._

Mammon raises his hand and rubs the back of his neck, "ah, fuck, I, uh," stumbling over his words, unsure what to say to her, "I'm sorry," he says simply, grimacing at his own actions.

She shakes her head, "Mammon, I," she trails off but coming to when she realizes she doesnt want his older brother waiting any longer. "I just need to keep some things private. Especially from Lucifer. I don't trust him, not with everything, okay?" She looks at him intensely, feeling somewhat desperate to keep their secret.

Mammon, seeing the look in her eye, nods, "I got your back, MC, okay?"

Lucifer hollers from the steps again, "I don't have all day, you two."

Mammon swears he feels himself sweat before hurridly hoisting her up into a bridal carry, a blush creeping onto her face. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she tries to keep her head down, daring not to look at his face. He does the same.

"Just hold on."

The demon lifts off the ground and she gasps. She never considered how many steps there were until now and she's grateful she didn't have to walk up them. He lands gracefully in front of Lucifer and let's her down; his older brother crosses his arms but just as he begins speaking, MC pipes up.

"Lucifer," she starts, confidence slightly shaken up now that she's in front of the oldest. She doesn't know where to begin, "there was a demon. He-"

"No need to explain yourselves right now," he says softer, now seeing the damage done to her face and wrists. Scratches dance on her knees and elbows, _a sign of struggle._ He looks to Mammon who similarly has cuts and scrapes, "we will be having a meeting at the council hall."

MC looks on at him nervously, but nods her head in agreement.

Lord Diavolo leans over to MC, eyeing her cheek where Shokujinki had slapped her. Ever pleasant, he puts a hand on her shoulder, "we'll get you patched up, MC. I'm sorry your stay isn't going as well as I planned. I do hope you can find a place in your heart to forgive me."

Looking into his eyes, she can see a hidden remorse. _He really means it._

"Thank you, sir."

\---

The brothers are all gathered around a long table with Lord Diavolo and Barbatos at the head. Everyone is sitting except for the future King himself, who's arms are around his back looking down at his students. He had called in for the angels as well as the other human student to come sit in at the meeting. MC sits beside Mammon and the other brothers; Solomon just across from her with the angels. She notices his wincing as he breathes, his hand tucked under his ribcage. She frowns, looking at him to try to get his attention but he doesn't return the gaze.

Lord Diavolo begins, "it's come to my attention that a nefarious man has returned to Devildom this afternoon. The Shokujinki, as he's known, is sure to come back and attack the House so I'd like to take some extra precautionary measures to ensure that all of my exchange students and underlings are safe. While we are technically withholding classes, we'll all being staying at my home. This matter is very serious and I will have an enchantment over the castle during your stay until I know for sure that it's safe to come back to the school. In the mean time," he pauses, "let's think of it more as an educational field trip!" His jovial spirit never letting up.

Lucifer has his arms crossed, eyes scanning the students. His superior looks over to him, ready for him to speak his turn. The brother stands at attention facing all at the table.

"With recent events that transpired today, I'd like for you all to tell us if you saw, heard, or experienced anything out of the ordinary. It's come to my attention that both of our human exchange students," Lucifer looks to MC and Solomon before setting his gaze on Mammon, "as well as one of my brothers had gone missing for a long period of time."

Mammon pathetically raises his voice, "listen, I was-"

MC puts a hand on his arm, allowing herself to speak, "I'm sorry, Lucifer," her eyes are heavy, "and I'm sorry Lord Diavolo. I.. I snuck out to go to the villa. Just to be out of the House for a bit."

Solomon raises his hand, "I took her out to go see the marketplace. I apologize for the untimely panic it might've caused with us missing. However," he looks over at MC, "as we were leaving, another magic user had grabbed MC and surprisingly had enough power to destroy my portal with a destruction spell. It had blasted me through back to the school. That's when I informed Mammon that she was in trouble."

Asmodeus raises his hand as well, "that sorcerer was so powerful that his stupid spell singed my garden!"

Lord Diavolo stares on at the parties, intently listening on events unfolding.

MC's eyes cast down to the table, "the, uh," she stutters, "the magic user chased me into a forest nearby. He tied me up and said I was going to be a sacrifice for his master... the man that appeared next, I mean, h-he was Shokujinki," she looks at Mammon, "was he?"

He speaks uncharacteristically quiet, "Yea. That was him."

Lucifer nods, "hm, and what happened?"

Her eyes connect with Lucifer's, "I summoned Mammon, and I guess, the Shokujinki thought there would be more of you so he ran away," she looks back down, remembering it all too fast, "he killed the magic user and then left. So we made our way back."

"You don't know where Shokujinki could've left?"

"No."

Lucifer narrows his eyes, not convinced of the full story, "how did you manage to summon Mammon all by yourself? You haven't used magic at all since being here and I don't sense any aura from you."

She flinches but Solomon speaks, "I was showing her a few simple spells in the villa and leant her some of my magic, sir."

MC watches Solomon speak. _Why was he covering for me_? He didn't know what happened out in that forest and yet, he was smart enough to know she was trying to hide something. _Solomon wasn't an idiot_. She should've known by now.

Lord Diavolo bows his head and everyone has their eyes on him now. As he looks back up, his face is coldly serious in contrast to his light hearted nature a few minutes ago.

"I'm deeply sorry, MC. Solomon. I had no idea the severity of the situation."

MC frowns, _Diavolo... the weight of his dream on his shoulders. I can't imagine how he feels._

"I think staying at your home would be a great plan, Lord Diavolo!" MC perks up and tries to sound positive, "I would love to learn more of history of Devildom and I'm sure everyone else would too!"

The angels nod in agreement. Simeon, the pretty one, she notes, speaks softly, "despite these unfortunate circumstances, I'm certainly glad no one was seriously injured. We feel very safe with you, Lord Diavolo, and a field trip sounds magnificent." He smiles sweetly.

Lord Diavolo sighs. A smile to his face once more, "thank you, Simeon."

\---

MC lightly touches the side of her cheek, a swelling and bruising that was sure to last for a bit. She sighs. _What a shitty day._

With the meeting adjourned, the students head back to their rooms and begin packing their suitcases for the stay. MC and Beel are shuffling through their things when he turns to speak to her.

"So you saw him?"

She doesn't look up from her things, "mhm."

He frowns. He wonders how scared she must've been but doesn't press any further. He watches her fold clothes neatly into the bags she has. Beel moves forward behind her and her ears twitch, hearing him draw closer.

"Hm?" She turns around, startled to see Beel a mere inches away from her. The tall brother holds his arms out, a sweet smile plastered on his face. _He's definitely a hugger_. MC reaches out and hugs him back, the feeling of comfort and warmth emanating off of him.

"You're very sweet, Beel," she says, smiling.

"You remind me a lot of someone very special to me," he places a hand on top of her head.

 _Hope he isn't talking about his twin_ , remembering for a moment that she had a deal with the devil.

Beel doesn't pull back, somewhat lost in his memories, "I had a sister. We all did," MC wants to look at his face but keeps still, "her name was Lilith."

A flash of light blinds MC and she pulls away violently, her hand clutching her chest.

Beel is surprised, "Oh! I'm sorry, do you not like hugs?"

_What the hell was that...? Like before..._

"No, I'm sorry, I just," her hand goes to her face, rubbing her eyes, "sorry. I'm just tired from the day. I think I need some time alone."

Beel puts his arms down, confused by her reaction, "I'm sorry! I should've been more considerate." He turns around to grab the rest of his things. As he touches the door handle, MC calls out to him.

"Beel," he turns his head to her and she smiles, "I'd like to know more about your sister sometime. You're always so kind to me and I," she shakes her head, "Thank you."

He smiles back, eyes bright with satisfaction. He loved seeing her happy.

\---

Asmodeus moves about his room, five suitcases all open at once and holding numerous clothes and shoes in each hand. Solomon has already finished gathering his bag and watches the brother rummage through his things, "I just don't know if I want to bring the red or the yellow! How cruel of Shoku to show up at a time like this! I only have so much space in my bags to fit all my favorite outfits!" He sighs.

Solomon tries not to shift too much in his seat, "so you've known this demon for a while then, huh?"

Asmodeus huffs, "Oh, for sure. The man can't stand us. Some shady activity between him and Lord Diavolo. Lucifer forbade us to even say his name when he was exiled. It's too bad, his hair is beautiful but I don't think I could stomach any more of his nasty eating habit."

Solomon nods, his hand rested up on his side.

The demon notices and stands up, putting his hands on his hips like a mother scolding their child, "you should've spoken up about that, you know. You're lucky I made a pact with you and felt," he brings a hand dramatically to his head, "compelled to aid you like a knight in shining heels."

"It's only one fractured rib. Doubt it's even fully broken." Solomon's grin ever present, hiding the pain he feels every time he breathes in even slightly.

Asmodeus frowns and let's his hand down, "whatever you say."

\---

Mammon steps outside of his room, lips pursed together. He wonders how MC is doing. _Stupid human_. He can't get the look of her tired eyes out of his head; like all the humanity had left her in that instant when they were walking back. He sighs, throwing his hand to the back of his neck.

_Time to go to the castle._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow.
> 
> Thank you for joining me on this journey, ya'll!  
> This Part One of my Obey Me series! Part Two, bury a friend is out now! I have a lot of fun writing these!
> 
> i also draw, so follow me on twitter, @BigSkoot and @BigSkootArt
> 
> Really glad so many of you enjoyed it. Thank you, truly. 🙏


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